Reid needs surgery, Swans in injury crisis

Sydney's injury crisis has worsened, with Sam Reid booked in for Achilles surgery that could spell the end of his AFL season.

Reid hasn't played since round three but was set to return from a quad injury on Sunday, when the Swans clash with North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium.

Instead the key forward, who has been restricted to 121 games in eight seasons because of a series of injuries, suffered a fresh setback last Saturday in the NEAFL.

Reid and Lewis Melican, who also hasn't played at AFL level in three months, will both go under the knife on Tuesday.

Coach John Longmire expects Reid to be sidelined for six weeks, while Melican will be out for eight weeks because of his recurring hamstring problem.

Given the pair's trouble this year, a lot will have to go right for either of them to play again in 2018.

The untimely setbacks come after the Swans recorded their lowest score of the season in an upset loss to Geelong, during which veterans Jarrad McVeigh (broken collarbone), Dan Hannebery (calf strain) and Kieren Jack (medial strain) all suffered injuries.

"We reviewed the game and one of the things I said at the end of the meeting was it's not about the players we haven't got, it's about the players we have got," Longmire told reporters on Monday.